Shiver
by Raptured Dreams
Summary: "Scream for me, little girl." Layla's being stalked by a terrifying 'shadow' that nobody but her ever sees. Her boyfriend won't help, so, scared, she falls into the strong arms of another and hopes he can protect her from the horror her life has become. M
1. Not As It Seems

**AN:** Yo, there! So here's my first story and I just want to say that this IS a Warren/Layla fic, but it may not seem like it at first. Just keep reading, everything will work itself out :) This is the first chapter of (hopefully) many more to come and I'd appreciate some feedback on it! So please read and review! Thanks muchly. I don't mind constructive criticism, it helps me grow as a writer.

**Warnings:** Though it may not seem like it at first, this story will contain somewhat darker images and themes. It is classified as horror for a reason. It is classified as rated M for a reason. If you are too young or squeamish about sexual situations or dark themes you really shouldn't have clicked on the link in the first place and should click the BACK button on your browser. I don't want to get reported or anything because your virgin eyes got ruined, I've given fair warning. I'm not saying that every chapter is going to hold something sexual, they will be interspersed throughout the story, but they will be there and some of them will be fairly intense.

This is an alternate storyline, the main characters are in their late teens - 18/19 - and out of high school. This doesn't necessarily follow the plot/storyline of the movie, I've pretty much created my own to suit my own purposes, but they do still have their powers. They're just not the same without them, lol. It will all be explained as the story goes on.**  
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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Sky High or the characters found within; Disney does, lucky devils. I just own this story and anything else you don't recognize.

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><p><strong>Shiver<strong>

_Chapter One_

Not As it Seems

"Scream for me, little girl. I want you to scream," he said as he walked slowly towards her.

She was scared—no. Scared was not the right word. She was terrified. She was frightened of this man, this situation, everything. She didn't even know him or what was going on or why she was there! It just had to be a mistake, but she couldn't work up the willpower to say anything.

She couldn't even use her powers because of whatever was in that shot he had given her earlier. She was completely helpless, and it terrified her.

Realizing this, she couldn't help herself; tears welled in her eyes and she trembled as he slowly approached her bound form and she struggled anew against her restraints. She might cry, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of hearing her scream like he so desperately wanted. No matter what he did to her.

At the sick gleam in his eyes, she sobbed, tears cascading down her face, and sent out a silent prayer to whoever might be listening.

_Oh god, he's going to kill me… Please, help me!_

_Warren!_

With a gasp Layla shot up in bed, her chest heaving rapidly with strangled breaths, her heart racing out of control. She wrenched her arms haphazardly out of the blankets and was relieved to find that they weren't bound and immobile.

She nearly cried when she realized that she could move her entire body.

_It was just a dream, just a dream, just a dream,_ she chanted to herself as she got her breathing under control. Suddenly she froze before frantically stumbling out of bed towards the window, kicking herself free of the covers and abandoning any attempts to straighten out her pajamas, though they threatened to trip her.

Crossing the room in mere seconds, she thrust out a hand and slumped onto the seat under the window as the tree outside of her house sprouted apples out of season.

With her forehead resting against the glass she laughed dryly as a thought crossed her mind.

_Jeez. Even after a nightmare when my powers are out of control and full of desperation I still can't make lemons._

She absentmindedly gave herself a reminder to take care of the apples later as she sat there on the window seat, calming herself down.

Breathing easier, heartrate slowing back to normal, and exhaustion seeping back into her bones, Layla picked herself up and made her way to her nightstand where she turned on the lamp. For the first time since jolting awake, she looked at the digital clock and sighed.

Bright, glowing green numbers told her it was 4:42 in the morning, causing her to groan in exasperation and fall back onto her bed. She was exhausted, but she was still slightly afraid. She wanted to go back to sleep for the few more hours she would be allowed, but she was scared of another nightmare ruining those same few hours.

She pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes and expelled the breath she had not been aware she had been holding. She was tired, she needed to be up in a few hours, and, she decided, she was going back to sleep.

_It was just a dream, it wasn't real,_ she told herself as she tried to fix her blankets and ease her body under them while simultaneously switching off her bedside lamp. Before she drifted off to sleep again she drowsily wondered why in her dream she'd called out for her friend instead of her boyfriend.

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><p>The next morning came unexpectedly fast for the redhead snoozing in her bed. She was quite comfortable and warm until a loud blaring from her alarm clock shattered the tranquility and snapped her into consciousness at eight.<p>

Her eyes cracked open enough to show her brown irises and glared at the offending object creating the noise, one slender arm creeping out from under the warmth of her covers to slam her hand down on the clock, effectively shutting off the alarm.

She grumbled and burrowed back down, resting her head just under her pillow with her body curled and wrapped around itself. She sighed in contentment as she felt her mind begin to cloud over again with sleep and was just about to fall over the edge between wakefulness and slumber when she was once again rudely awoken.

Layla shrieked in surprise when her blankets were ripped away from her body, causing her to stupidly lunge for them and subsequently fall off her bed due to the fact that her legs were not in the proper position to be lunging for anything.

Hearing laughter, Layla picked her head up off the ground and spat hair out of her mouth to see who was torturing her so much so early in the morning.

Upon finding the culprit she groaned in frustration.

"Mom," she groaned, "what was that for? I was getting up."

Still laughing, Donna Williams shook her head. "No, honey, you were falling back to sleep. I decided to come find you since you hadn't come down for breakfast yet."

A huge yawn cut off any argument Layla was prepared to make in her defense so she grumbled and settled for propping herself up enough to disentangle her legs from each other and fix the pants she was wearing.

Finally righting herself she sat up and stretched her arms over her head. Leaning back slightly, she popped her back and closed her eyes in the process.

"Mmm," she moaned blissfully, "that's it."

Opening her eyes, she propped a hand on her bed and hopped to her feet, now fully awake, so that she could grab her blankets away from her still chuckling mother. "Okay, Mom, I'm awake, I'm up, and I'm going down to breakfast. Be down in a minute." Ushering Donna out of the room, Layla put her hands to her face and yawned again.

"I so do not want to be up right now." Stealing a passing glance at the clock on her nightstand, she did a double-take. And then she screamed.

"Oh my goodness, I'm going to be late! Crap, why didn't my alarm wake me up?" she yelled in a panic, conveniently forgetting that it _had_ woken her up and she ignored it, as she tore through her room trying to get ready at record speed.

Hopping out the door while pulling a sandal on her foot and a brush through her hair nearly caused her to collide with her father on his way to the upstairs bathroom, which she veered into yelling out a "Sorry, Daddy!" while he tried to get his bearings and not fall flat on his face with the force of their near-collision.

Mark Williams just shook his head and headed back downstairs to use his own bathroom. Why he hadn't just done that in the first place, he didn't rightly know.

As Layla slammed the bathroom door shut she immediately pulled her hair into a messy ponytail and splashed water on her face to get rid of the residual sleepiness before drying off and brushing her teeth, quickly. After making sure she was minty fresh, she put on some eyeliner to make her face look less like a blank mask and added a dab of gloss to her lips. She never really used much make-up, preferring instead just a bit of eyeliner on her eyes and a dab of lip-gloss to make her mouth sparkle and shine and she was good to go. Her cheeks were naturally rosy, much to the jealousy of other girls her age.

Finished, she took her hair down and shook it out, running her hands through it to fluff it up, before throwing open the bathroom door and running down the stairs into the kitchen long enough to grab an apple –_right, gotta fix that_– and call out an excuse to her parents.

"Oh, he's going to be mad. Please don't be late, please don't be late, please don't be late," she chanted as she ran to her car.

Twenty minutes later Layla was cringing as she parked her car and hustled herself quickly into the apartment complex where she was supposed to be meeting her boyfriend -thirty minutes ago.

Arriving at his door, she pulled out her key and let herself in, calling out his name as she made her way through the apartment and setting her purse down as she passed the ledge near the door.

"Will? Baby, you here?" she questioned loudly, trying to suss out where her surprisingly silent boyfriend was hiding. She didn't worry about waking his roommate, knowing that he was gone on a mission, so she felt comfortable being somewhat loud that early in the morning without fear of fire being hurled at her head for waking him up.

Seeing the bedroom door closed made the redhead groan. "Oh, don't tell me," she griped as she marched over to the door and yanked it open.

Her stance in the doorway gave Layla the perfect position to see her boyfriend, still sleeping, lying on the bed, one leg thrown over the edge, and drool leaking from his partially-opened mouth.

She rolled her eyes and adjusted her shoulders, easing out the tension built up from rushing around all morning.

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She rushed and sped her way over to his apartment because she was afraid of being late to whatever it was that he wanted her specifically there for, and he was asleep! Snoring and drooling in his cute little way, but sleeping nonetheless.

To say she was upset was an understatement.

Striding forward purposefully, she decided to wake him up in the same loving way she was. She grabbed the corner of his sheet that was closest to her and yanked hard.

Will snorted and rolled onto his back, one arm extended over a bare, lean chest, his face the picture of deep slumber. His pajama-covered legs were splayed across the bed, uncaring of the newfound coldness overcoming him.

It seemed boys were less affected by the cold than Layla was.

Smiling mischievously, she decided to wake him up in a more…special way. She walked closer to the bed and slid out of her sandals before carefully lowering herself on top of her sleeping boyfriend. Her tight-fitting jeans and low-cut shirt were quite comfortable—another reason she put them on other than them making her look sexy and showing off her slim figure—and didn't get in her way as she maneuvered her body between his legs, arms supporting her near his head.

Lowering herself inch by inch until she was hovering with her mouth just above his ear, she blew gently, not quitting her wicked smile. "Will," she whispered with a sing-song quality, "wake up, sleepyhead…" she lightly kissed the shell of his ear, hoping he'd wake up.

"Will—ah!" she shrieked as she was suddenly grabbed and spun so that their positions were reversed, her lithe, soft body underneath his hard one. She looked up into the smirking face of her boyfriend with surprise and enjoyment as he bent down to kiss her.

"Good morning, beautiful. Glad you could make it," he grinned when they parted from their kiss leaving a flushed Layla looking up at him through hazy brown eyes.

"Will!" Layla exclaimed as soon as she got her breath back, "You were awake? I thought you were passed out."

"You kidding?" he snorted. "I've been awake since a bit before you yanked my blankets away. You think I'd really not notice that? It's freaking cold in here! I'm not Warren, the Human Furnace, you know!" Will joked.

Layla paused when Will mentioned Warren, a niggling thought caught in the back of her mind, but soon forgot it and giggled as she interlocked her fingers behind her boyfriend's neck and pulled him down for another kiss.

Breaking free after several moments, she looked at him lovingly as he rested his forehead against hers, eyes closed, breath hot against her face.

"So, Will," she gasped, trying to regain the breath his kiss had stolen, "why exactly did you want me to be here at precisely ten o'clock in the morning?" Recalling the circumstances that brought her running like a lunatic to his apartment, she stopped and put a hand against his chest, shoving him away from her and sitting up against the headboard.

"And why were you still sleeping when I got here?" she questioned, eyes narrowing as she remembered her upset.

"You were late." He replied, trying to pull her back to him, unwilling to separate from her just yet.

She resisted and pushed more against his chest. "How would you know that? You were sleeping!" she grabbed a pillow and smacked him across the head with it.

"Ow! Jeez, woman, calm down!" he laughed, throwing his arms over his head to protect it from further flying pillow attacks and sitting up on his knees to further escape her range.

"Do you know what I went through this morning trying to get here without being late? All because you said it was _important_ that I be here _precisely_ at ten o'clock!" she huffed indignantly.

"Babe, calm down. It was important—it _is_ important that you're here right now, at," he looked at his clock, "ten forty-two in the morning." At her withering look, he hastily went on.

"Do you know what today is?"

Layla blinked and wet her lips. "Besides Thursday?"

He smiled wanly. "Yes, besides Thursday."

She slowly shook her head, a twinkle in her eyes. "No, Will Stronghold, why don't you remind me what today is?"

Grinning roguishly, he grabbed her arms and pulled her bodily away from the headboard as he gently lowered them both back to the bed. "Well, Layla Williams, today," he kissed her cheek, "happens to be," her other cheek, "our," her forehead, "two year," her nose, "anniversary." He ended his statement with a gentle kiss to her soft, shiny lips that quickly turned heated and more passionate with every passing second.

Layla groaned as Will's lips moved enticingly over hers, his hot, sensual tongue parting her lips roughly to enter them both into a game of dominance she was unwilling to yield to.

She felt the last dregs of her annoyance with him vanish completely as he glided his hands slowly down her sides and under her shirt, teasingly tracing patterns against the smooth skin of her stomach.

Layla took the opportunity to explore the muscled planes of his uncovered back, reveling as he shuddered and moved over her, the proof of his growing arousal pressing against her thigh. She moaned happily when he took hold of her breast underneath her shirt with one hand and kneaded it expertly.

"Oh," she breathed softly, "Will…"

She cried out abruptly, throwing her head back and arching her back as he grasped her already erect nipple through the soft cotton of her bra and rolled it between his thumb and forefinger harshly, lightning racing down her body to her pulsating core.

Latching onto the column of Layla's exposed, creamy neck, he suckled and nibbled at the pulse point throbbing erratically under her skin before making his way to her collar bone, making her tilt her head to give him easier access, subconsciously making little mewling noises and begging him to suck harder, to increase the feelings welling up inside of her.

Layla could barely stand it. Her body was deliciously on fire, so much more so than it ever had been, especially at the beginning. She wasn't a virgin anymore—they had taken care of that detail on their one year anniversary, but even then it hadn't been like this. _Anniversaries are special,_ she reflected, reaching up and flipping them over so she was straddling his hips, her hands in his hair, his hands on her hips, grinding her down directly onto the pulsing bulge contained in his very thin pants. _He's never been this aggressive and forward… though I can't say that I mind!_

She shuddered and allowed him to take control of her hips, just giving the barest rolls and circling grinds of her own as she guided his lips and mouth back into heated combat with her own, determined to get as much out of this as she could before she plummeted over the edge—and she was still fully clothed!

Running her hands through his hair, nails scraping against his scalp had him hissing in excitement as his moans became louder and his grip on her hips intensified.

It took a few seconds of her pulling on his hair, much to his enthusiasm if his outbursts of almost pained exclamations of _"Ohhh, damn, Layla,"_ were anything to go by, for her to absentmindedly notice that his hair was getting longer; he would be crying for a cut soon—he hated when his hair got too long. He thought it made him lose his boyish charm.

As their kiss got more and more frantic, Will rolled them both over again and all but ripped the shirt from her body, breaking the kiss to shove her bra beneath her breasts and glue his mouth to one dusky pink, swollen nipple and _suck._ His other hand became instantly attached to her other breast and kneaded it, rolling her nipple between his fingers, before switching to give the other breast his attention, all the while unrelentingly grinding his hips against her own. Though those parts of their bodies were still clothed, it didn't dull the euphoria it stirred up within them.

This position gave him more room to maneuver his body against hers in the most delicious way conceivable, ripping more sighs and moans from her throat than she knew was possible as she writhed beneath him, pressed between the soft comfort of his mattress and the hardness of his body.

She reached behind her and grabbed hold of the oak headboard with both hands as she grit her teeth against the intense pleasure radiating through her body from the touches and kisses he was bestowing. She could feel the dead wood respond to her flaring powers and begin to sprout wooden leaves and small branches but she didn't care. She'd fix it later; she was a bit preoccupied at the moment. A blissful gasp tore through her lips as a deep, satisfied groan resounded above her. She was in electrifying agony and it was _heaven_.

_Anniversaries really _are_ special_, she mentally repeated again as she rolled her head back and arched her spine. She trembled as her orgasm cleaved through her body as hot as lightning, a gasp of pure rapture escaping her mouth as she tossed back her head and moaned loudly. Her white hands were holding onto the headboard so tightly she was half-afraid that she wouldn't be able to remove them later, as her body seized up and she waited for it to pass. Firmly unwrapping her hands from behind her head, her fingers tangled in her lover's hair and pressed his head against her breasts tightly, groaning more as his teeth scraped over her painfully distended nipple. "_Ohhh_…"

He, however, had no intentions of letting her wait for it to pass. He kept going, never stopping his attentions on her breasts, one hand reaching down to her jeans zipper to—finally, _finally _—unzip them enough to reach inside and stroke her through the soaked cotton of her underwear.

Layla felt him smirk and chuckle appreciatively against her chest as he felt just how wet her panties were and her reaction to his simple stroke while she was still coming down from her high. Removing his mouth from her nipple with a slick _pop!_ he sat up to completely remove her jeans from her person slowly, kissing every inch of skin that came into his view as the tight jeans slowly glided down her mile-long legs.

When the material was finally removed, Layla closed her eyes, not being able to see straight anymore anyways, and hummed in pleasure when she felt his fingers slide under the elastic of her panties and rub against the bundle of nerves right at her core.

She was gone once again. Sighing in elation, she ran her nails down his muscled back and clutched onto him for dear life. She sobbed when he didn't let up, when he kept rubbing her clitoris and stroking her up and down her slit, sliding easily due to all the juices she was expelling.

Surely she would go insane if he didn't stop teasing her soon!

She nearly died when he plunged a finger into her depths after literally tearing the panties from her body, and tears actually came to her eyes when he rubbed her inner, velvety walls. His thumb rubbed circles against her clit rapidly in unison with his thrusts, giving her stroke after stroke of intense heat through her very _soul_ that she felt from the hair on her head to the tips of her curling toes.

His mouth caught hers once again and swallowed her loud yells of bliss, his hot tongue mimicking what his finger was doing to her slick nether regions.

Adding a second finger and then a third easily due to her slickness made her tight passage clench even more around him, her feet wrapping firmly around his toned calves. Her thighs squeezed him harder and she cried out when he curled his fingers inside her, when he spread his fingers and rubbed, when he used his nails to gently scrape against her.

She sighed as her eyes rolled back into her head; this man's fingers were _magical_. And they were all hers.

Thinking on how his body was hers to manipulate and steal whenever she wanted made her moan and hiss louder as their kiss grew more and more passionate, tongue battling tongue, teeth clashing against each other, lips swelling and bruising from the onslaught of abuse they were meting out.

Hands… hands were everywhere. The hand that wasn't occupied with fingering the wantonly moaning young woman before him was rolling and kneading her perfect breast. Her hands were tangled in his long hair, over his back, against his defined chest. She tweaked and twisted his distended nipples as a return favor for his attentions, making him hiss and arch into her touch.

Her hands traveled down his back to unabashedly grope his ass and she was annoyed to find that he still wore his sleeping pants. She was fully naked and he still wore clothing? _Oh no,_ she growled, unaware of what the sound was doing to her partner, _this won't do._

Grabbing hold of the material, she yanked them down as best she could, determined to get him as naked as she was. He chuckled, a low, deep sound that she couldn't at the moment remember him ever having, but then again, they'd never acted quite like _this_ either, and helped her remove his pants, kicking them off at the end. She was pleased to find that he wasn't wearing underwear and she was able to see exactly what she was doing to him.

"Layla," he growled lowly into her ear, making her shiver in anticipation and need, his words and tone nearly making her come again instantaneously. "You're so impatient," he nipped at her ear and ceased his ministrations inside of her much to her dismay. She was just at the edge of another mind-blowingly amazing orgasm and he couldn't deny her! That would be just too cruel.

She whimpered and tried moving her hips, desperate to ride his hand to get there. She was so close! In her failure, she reached to grab hold of him, determined to bring him under her will, but he stopped her with a strong pressure to her hips and brought her hand back to the bed and over her head, halting her movements. She whimpered again, even louder and more desperate. At any other time she would have been mortified at the noises he was pulling out of her but at that moment in particular she absolutely did not care.

"Move," she cried. "Please! I'm almost there, W—" she was cut off by a loud, exquisitely wanton scream as he acquiesced and plunged his fingers deeply inside her, thumb rubbing madly over her clit and she finally reached that precipice she had been denied the last few minutes. "Ah!"

Stars and fireworks burst behind her suddenly closed eyelids in brilliant colors and explosions that sent her reeling, her mouth dropping open in a silent scream, her back arching exponentially off the bed, to where she was almost sitting up straight. Her body was positively burning in beautiful torture and she loved every second of it.

As she was coming down from her high supremely exhausted, she felt him slowly, sensually, remove his fingers and replaced them with something much larger. Slightly anxious, since they had never gone so long before with just worrying about her needs over his own, she worried she wouldn't be able to hold up any longer without breaking. She looked up at him and saw that he was licking his fingers clean, rekindling her desire to extreme proportions.

Sensing her anxiety, he gave her another earth shattering kiss. "Baby, don't get tired on me now. We're not through yet."

With renewed fervor as she tasted herself on his tongue, she wrapped her lean legs around his waist and waited impatiently, wriggling around as best she could as he held himself right before her, doing nothing but teasing her up and down her seeping entrance.

Grasping his shoulders to the best of her ability with them both glistening and sticky with sweat, her smouldering deep brown eyes snapped open right as he thrust into her fully, his brown, nearly black with lust they were so dark, eyes boring into her own; his shoulder length black hair with the thick red stripes sticking to both their faces, intermingling with her own long red locks that were glued to as much of her body as they could stick to; his strong face upturned as his eyes closed and his mouth dropped open with the heady groan of a man finding ultimate satisfaction as he grunted her name.

She gasped and came again at the sudden intrusion, closed the eyes that were rolling into the back of her head, and whispered, for her voice was tiring from all the use it had been put through within the past several minutes, yet with all the power in the world…

"_Warren…"_

Mouth opened in a silent scream, the eighteen-year-old's real eyes snapped open and wildly spun about, trying to locate anyone and no one. Her face was flushed, her breathing was ragged, her hair was tangled, her body was still burning with desire…

"A dream? Another godforsaken dream?" she panted, disbelievingly. Both dreams had ended with her calling out Warren's name, though with two completely different connotations. The first dream was a nightmare, the second a forbidden subconscious fantasy.

It had felt so real, though; her body was still feeling aftershocks from her erotic dream—the first one she had ever had that didn't star her boyfriend. The first one that ever held one of her best friends, Warren Peace, who was anything but peaceful in their steamy encounter according to her—_very perverted!_—unconscious mind.

The first one that was so completely and utterly graphic.

She'd had erotic dreams before, everyone did. It was a natural part of life, especially when one has a significant other. But they had never been _so real_ to the point where she wasn't sure if she was awake or dreaming at the end of it.

The panting young woman was horrified. She was distressed. She was still so incredibly hot, her heart still racing so hard she feared it would burst right out of her chest…

"What…the hell…was that?"

Layla Williams had just had an erotic dream about her boyfriend, Will Stronghold, who inexplicably turned into her best friend, Warren Peace, somewhere in the middle, and she didn't find it strange.

Layla Williams was happily dating, and had been for two years, Warren's best friend.

Layla Williams had this dream on the morning of her two year anniversary with her boyfriend.

Layla Williams… was so screwed.

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><p>Her back-up alarm rang three minutes later at eight forty-five, and with it came her mother who had come up to make sure she was getting up. She knew Will had asked Layla to meet him at his apartment at ten for a special date for their anniversary.<p>

"Uh, yeah, Mom, I'm getting up. Thanks," she called through the door as she glanced at her clock and saw that she had plenty of time for a long shower to wash away the sweat from last night and make it to her boyfriend's apartment with time to spare.

Thinking about his apartment made her think about his roommate, the more recent costar of her dream, and she felt such a pang of guilt and trepidation that nearly sent her to her knees. Oh, she hoped to god that little detail her dream revealed of him being away on a mission was true (even though her dream lied to her about who was freaking who). Layla really didn't think she'd be able to act calm and composed if Warren was actually there. She believed she could handle Will, she would just have to reinforce that she loved him unfalteringly and would never stray, especially to their mutual best friend.

She would never reveal to anyone, except perhaps Magenta—she knew the girl would never tell a soul, and she planned on skipping the fact that the dream was about Warren—that she'd dreamt of anyone other than Will in that manner.

Thinking of the fire-user instantly brought to mind images of their sweat-soaked bodies intermingling with each other; of him forcefully sending her over the edge again and again, without giving her any rest; of the look in his eyes and on his face right before she woke up…

She shook her head firmly. _No!_ _I can't be thinking of him like this, it's Warren! I should be thinking of Will. Yes,_ her breathing, which had been climbing rapidly as she thought on her dream, began to steady out again. _Will—such a wonderful guy and an amazing boyfriend. I love him so much!_

She walked resolutely to the bathroom to take her self-promised long, hot shower.

_I love him, he's the love of my life,_ she repeated, stepping into the shower, sighing as the hot water ran down her body.

But if she truly believed that, then why was she still thinking about how Warren would or could make love to her in real life?

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> And there it is! Remember to leave a review before you leave and I hope you enjoyed! I'm gonna try and get this story updated regularly, here's hoping RL doesn't get in the way too badly, so be on the look out for a new chapter soon :) My brain needs time to go into dark-mode for the direction I want this story to go, lol.

Once again, if you're uncomfortable with dark themes or sexual situations, you are not obligated read this, just click the BACK button and have a great day :)

Question: If you were to attend Sky High, which power would you have?


	2. Surprises

**AN: **Yikes! It's been way longer than I thought it would be. I'm so sorry about the delay! I got really busy with school all of a sudden, but finals are next week and then I'm off for Christmas break, so hopefully I'll get another chapter out soonish!

Also, sorry but this chapter is mainly Will/Layla centric. I know, I know, bad RD! Will/Layla in a Warren/Layla fic? The horror! Lol, but really, it's necessary to the plot and in this fic she is already dating Will so we will have to suffer through some of that before we can fully get into the Warren goodness ;3 And I did say that it wouldn't seem like a Warren/Layla fic at first, didn't I?

Thank you for all the people who reviewed last chapter! I'm sorry it took so long for me to update! Hopefully you aren't disappointed or anything, lol.

With that said, I hope you all enjoy this chapter! ^_^

(see chapter one for warnings)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Sky High or the characters found within. I only own this story and anything you don't recognize :)

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><p><strong>Shiver<strong>

_Chapter Two_

.:Surprises:.

Luck was not on her side today. At all.

Layla flushed, her eyes widened, and it took all she had to keep her breathing relatively normal as the door to Will and Warren's apartment jerked open with a muffled curse and low grumbles, clearly indicating just who was on the other side.

The shirtless, obviously recently awoken fire user leaned his arm against the door and yawned as he blearily blinked and grunted in annoyance, "whadda fuh y'wan'?"

Layla, by now fluent in early-morning-guy-speak, translated this to mean, "Good morning, what can I do for you?"

…okay, so she paraphrased a bit; she liked her version better.

"Well, good morning to you as well, sunshine," she replied in her usual cheery manner, taking every possible measure to make sure she came off as normal and not worried that he'd find out about her dirty, shameful secret.

His naked torso, which she'd always, admittedly, been quite fond of looking at even though she was completely happy with Will –_hey, a girl's allowed to look, right?_–, wasn't doing _anything_ to help her current situation and she gave a mental groan as she kicked her subconscious for lying to her about that mission.

Her eyes strayed lower without her permission for a second and she noticed his cotton sleep pants were riding low enough on his hips to remind her how completely muscled and toned he was before jolting back up to his face.

Oh goodness. She hoped to hell and back he hadn't noticed that… and that her face wasn't as noticeably red to him as it felt to her. Luckily for her he appeared to have missed it.

"Hippie?" slightly surprised, he rubbed his eyes and tried to clear his mind. "What are you doing here so damn early? And," he paused, confusion apparent as his eyebrows furrowed together and combined with his irritation, "don't you have a goddamned key?"

Layla giggled under her breath despite herself. Rolling her eyes, she cocked her hip to the side and said, "Why yes, Warren, I do have a key but I kind of forgot it." At his look of _Uh huh, try again, loser_, she added, "I was changing my keys onto the new ring you got me last time we saw each other and fell asleep before I could transfer them all."

He shook his head and grinned, pulling a hand over his face. "Only you, Hippie. By the way," a huge yawn ripped its way through his throat, comically interrupting him and making Layla grin.

Shaking his head to dispel the last of the yawn, Warren tried to focus back on the redhead at his door. "By the way, what're you doing here at this ungodly hour?"

"It's nearly ten in the morning, War; I'm pretty sure that qualifies as 'late-morning' and not 'ungodly'." Brown eyes sparkling, Layla shuffled forward a bit to mirror his pose against the doorframe, "But I am terribly sorry if I woke you up from any steamy dreams you were having."

Warren's dark eyes shone with amusement as he straightened up and smirked down at her. "Steamy dreams, huh? And what would the goody goody little flower-child know about those, eh? Got a little secret, do we?"

With that statement, Layla realized just how close the two had gotten and nearly had a panic attack.

Crap on a cracker. She was so stupid! Why did she mention dreams of any kind, let alone steamy ones?

"I—"

"Layla! You're here! Dude, why are you blocking the door?"

_Thank goodness_.

Warren turned his head and chuckled. "Guess it's time for me to go back to bed. Later man, later Hippie." Finally removing himself from the door, Warren twisted fully and walked back to his bedroom, his hands going to his already messed up hair to mess it up even more as another yawn overtook him.

"Hey man, aren't you cold? It's kind of chilly right now," Will asked as he went to pull his girlfriend inside the apartment and out of the hallway.

Warren just looked over his shoulder with a _seriously?_ look on his face and waved him off as he shut the door to his room with a slam.

"Guess not." Will shrugged as Layla laughed lightly, her arms wrapping around the taller figure in front of her.

"Why, hello there," a small grin worked its way across his face and his light brown eyes brightened. "Don't you look lovely today."

Layla smiled at the compliment and inwardly sighed in relief. She had made sure not to wear the sexy shirt and pants combo she had worn in her dream—she had even gone so far as to shove the outfit to the back of her closet when she came across it earlier.

Instead, she was wearing a very cute, low cut, grey wool sweater dress over a black camisole and black booties she'd found under her bed when she tripped while getting dressed. She had slightly curled her hair and stuck a simple yet pretty barrette just above her ear for the sparkle factor, and to complete the soft look she had swiped some strawberry lip gloss across her lips and carefully applied a light layer of eyeliner and mascara to her almond shaped eyes.

She'd thought she had done a good job with herself that morning and, if the look Will was giving her was any indication, she had done extremely well.

"Why, thank you dearest, I do try to look my best," she smiled and reached up to kiss his cheek. "You don't look half bad yourself, handsome."

Will chuckled and let go of her so that he could give a spin, arms outstretched, letting her get the full experience of his dark washed blue jeans and casual burgundy dress shirt.

"Thank you, thank you," Will said airily as he grabbed hold of Layla once again and brought himself down to kiss her lips, uncaring that the door was still open and Warren was in the next room.

Layla inwardly smiled as she let herself drown in the kiss. Goodness, she loved this man. He was so good to her. Will slid his hands up and down her sides and she wound her long arms around his neck as their kiss grew more and more passionate.

_Heated kisses, burning touches, glistening skin…_

Layla gasped as the memory came unbidden to the forefront of her mind, making her quickly pull away from Will and stumble back into the door.

"Ow! Oh, gosh," Layla rubbed her back where she had collided with the wooden door and turned to shut it. In reality, she had turned so that Will wouldn't see the look of utter embarrassment cross her face.

That stupid dream! Why wouldn't it leave her alone? Was her subconscious trying to tell her something, or just drive her insane? Jeez, she didn't want to know.

"Oh my god, Layla! Are you okay? I'm sorry, I should have shut the door! What's wrong? Did I hurt you?" Will babbled, his face a mix of confusion and distress as reached for her.

The redhead pushed against the door to click it shut and leaned against it for a second before turning around with a bright smile on her face and a sheepish look in her eyes.

"Don't worry about it, sweetie!" she laughed, "It was my fault. I guess I was leaning over too far and tripped, haha." No matter that she should have tripped onto him, if she were telling the truth. _Please believe this…_

"I'm alright, I promise! Besides, now the other people in your building don't get a free show, right?" she winked.

Will moved forward and brought her back into his arms, looking down into her eyes with concern. "Are you sure? You seemed a bit spooked there for a moment," he asked.

"No, no, I'm fine! Promise. Now," she pulled herself away from him and finally made her way further into the apartment to the living room where she plopped herself down onto the couch and crossed her legs. "Want to tell me why exactly I was told to be here exactly at the ungodly hour of ten in the morning?"

Brown eyes shining mischievously, she watched as her boyfriend crossed the room and knelt before her.

"Well, Miss Williams, before we get to that, I was just wondering if you knew what today was?" he asked, eyes smiling.

Layla smothered a grin and brought a finger to her lips in thought. "Hmm, you mean besides Thursday?"

"Yes, besides Thursday."

"I may need a little reminder, Mr. Stronghold," smiling impishly, she leaned down so that her elbows rested on her knees, her chin resting on her laced fingers.

Will lightly grabbed her hands in his and raised them up to his lips and placed a kiss on both. "Well, it's a very special day to be shared by a very special girl. I do believe it is our anniversary—our two year, to be in fact. Will you share this day with me?"

Layla laughed out loud. "You are so cheesy, Will. Yes, I would love to spend this day with you! So what are we going to do today? You seem like you have something special planned."

"That, my dear, is a surprise," he replied as he rose to his feet, pulling the pouting girl up with him.

"Come on! Just tell me," Layla gave him The Look, the one women used on their men time and time again to get what they wanted.

Too bad Will had anticipated that and had comically scrunched his eyes up so he would not fall victim—again—to her dangerous stare. "Nope, sorry, can't do that. You'll just have to wait and see!"

"Oh, Will, snookums, c'mon…"

"For the love of god, would you guys just fucking go already? Some of us are trying to sleep!" Warren shouted through his still closed door. "Either go now or I'm going to tell her and spoil your little surprise."

Will looked half scandalized and half worried that Warren would actually do it, so he leaned down to lay a quick kiss on Layla's forehead and told her to wait just a bit, he needed to get something out of his room.

Rushing across the apartment, Will closed the door behind him. Layla shrugged, used to the somewhat strange actions her boyfriend was wont to do.

She stood in the middle of the room for just a moment, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she stared in the direction of Warren's room before her eyes set in resolution.

Rounding the couch, she made her way carefully over to the fire user's door and knocked softly.

She heard a muffled curse and a thump as he, she guessed, fell out of bed before he opened the door to her for the second time that morning.

"I'm not actually going to tell you, you'll just have to wait and see what superstar over there has planned," he grunted and shoved his hair out of his face.

"Ye—I know, I just wanted…"

"Hippie," Warren interrupted, "whatever it is can wait, since it looks like it'll take you a while to spit it out. Superstar'll be out in a minute, so have fun on your date and let me get some sleep." He reached out and flicked her forehead, making her scrunch up her nose and shove him.

Not like he actually moved, or anything, but it made her feel better.

"Okay, okay, I get the hint, sleepyhead. I'll talk to you later, Warren, get some sleep, you lazy bum." With a soft smile, she made to turn around and head to the front door but was halted by a strong grip on her wrist.

Turning back around, she was pulled into strong arms and held for a few seconds as Warren hugged her. "Happy anniversary, Layla. Don't do anything I wouldn't do, yeah?"

Her arms had automatically come up to surround him when he hugged her, but she froze when he called her by her actual name instead of the nickname he had given her years ago. He rarely called her by name, so it was understandable for her to be surprised. Then his words sunk in and she pulled back to shove his still naked chest, a blush forming on her face along with an embarrassed chuckle.

"Shut up!"

By then Will had come bounding out of his room and had come up behind Layla, scaring her when he spoke right in her ear. "And why are you telling him to shut up? Dude, what did you do? You know you don't want to mess with this one, she can do some serious damage when she's pissed."

"You shut up, too, you jerk!" Layla groaned as her boys laughed at her. They would never let her live that little encounter in their high school years down, would they?

"Will, sweetie, I'll meet you at the door, I have to say something to our friend here," Layla smiled sweetly as she blew her boyfriend a kiss and waited for him to go.

"Haha, okay Layla. Don't rough him up too much, he's still got rent to pay," Will jibbed as he squeezed her sides and walked away.

Turning back to the other half of her torturing squad, she put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrow. "You couldn't have told me he was there? Jerk."

Warren just smirked and folded his arms across his chest as he shrugged.

Layla stared for a moment before shaking her head and smiling tenderly. "Thanks, Warren." She reached out to touch his arm and with a last lingering smile, she turned around and headed to her impatiently waiting boyfriend.

"Ready to go?"

"Yup, can't wait!"

With that, Warren blinked and made his way back into his room, slamming his door with satisfaction, a loud exclamation of, "Good lord, finally, some peace and quiet," coming from his room before silence overcame the apartment.

The young couple glanced at each other and burst into laughter as they stepped out into the hall and locked the door.

Layla personally didn't see the point of locking the door since anyone stupid enough to break into Will and Warren's apartment would get seriously injured, especially if they woke Warren up from his precious sleep. But hardly anybody knew that they were supers and had powers so it helped with the illusion.

Though, even if they weren't supers, they were still forces to be reckoned with, as anyone who met them could attest to. Especially when sleep-deprived.

"So where are we going?" Layla asked again, trying to get a little hint.

"You'll see," Will replied with his boyish grin.

"Oh, fine!"

* * *

><p>"Will, this is…amazing!"<p>

Layla was in shock. She really didn't know what to say.

Will had taken her to the botanical gardens and had apparently made an arrangement with the management to get the whole place to themselves for a few hours.

He had also set up a very romantic picnic lunch in her favorite spot in the whole garden.

"You like it? Good, I was hoping you would. I was kind of anxious about what to do seeing how it's a big day, you know, two years and all," he nervously chuckled.

Layla turned her head to look at him, her brown eyes glimmering with unshed tears, and smiled.

Will's heart nearly skipped a beat when she turned to look at him. The sight of his girlfriend before him took his breath away. She was standing with the sunlight streaming from the windows surrounding her, encasing her in a halo of golden, shimmering light.

"This is wonderful, thank you so, so much," Layla responded as she took the few steps necessary to reach him and embraced him with all the love and happiness she could muster.

Tilting her head up for a kiss, Layla inwardly sighed in contentment.

"Let's sit down, I hope you're hungry," Will grinned when they finally pulled apart from each other.

Taking her by the hand, he led her over to the blanket and helped Layla sit down before taking a seat next to her and reaching for the basket.

"So! What would you like? We've got salad, fruit, sandwiches, juice, soda, water, and cookies."

"You willingly packed a salad? And, what, no meat? Okay, who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?"

He tsked. "I can do something nice for my beautiful girlfriend every now and then, can't I?"

With a laugh the redhead asked for a salad and some juice.

Will grabbed a sandwich that so loaded with meat she wondered how he'd ever be able to fit it into his mouth. "Ah, there it is. Knew it had to be there somewhere."

"Oh, ha ha," Will mocked with a roll of his eyes. "I'm a carnivore who just happens to have a vegetarian for a girlfriend. What can I say? I love you both."

As they finished their picnic, Layla jumped up, eager to walk around one of her favorite places.

She and Will walked hand in hand, her head leaning on his shoulder, through the multiple gardens as they talked about random things, stopping to affectionately kiss each other every so often for hours until their time was up.

"We should head back to the picnic area and pick up; it's almost time for us to get out of here."

"Oh, alright, I just wish we could stay here longer! I love this place. It's very soothing and romantic."

Will chuckled and led her by the hand, fingers entwined, back to where they had left their picnic and began to clear it of any mess. "I know, baby, but if we don't leave now we're going to miss the second part of our anniversary."

"There's more?" Layla asked, excited that her charming and sometimes forgetful boyfriend had managed to create a whole day's plans for their anniversary without her being any the wiser.

"Yep! Couldn't let this be the only thing we did, that wouldn't be very special," Will replied.

"Oh, but sweetie, this by itself was wonderful and I love that you arranged this for us. We haven't had enough time for ourselves recently and this was just perfect."

Will winced, "I know we haven't, Layls, and I'm really sorry about that. It's just all these missions I have to go on now, especially the ones with my parents as the Stronghold Three... That's why I wanted to make sure that this day was really special for you and something you would remember."

He gathered her into his arms and pressed a chaste kiss against her lips before speaking again. "I feel terrible about leaving you alone so much, even though you have our friends here, too. And missions of your own!"

"Yes, but mine aren't nearly as often as yours." Seeing the look of defeat on his face, she quickly added, "Not that there is anything wrong with that! You're a special guy, Will, and your place as part of the Stronghold Three is important. You are important, to this city, to your family, to your friends, to me. I love you and everything you do to make sure we all stay safe."

Punctuating her statement with another kiss, she hugged him and held him close, trying to make him see that she didn't really blame him for being away so often.

Plus, he was right. It wasn't as if she was totally alone every time he left her side for another long mission; she had Magenta and Zach and Ethan and Warren.

This time Warren's name popped into her thoughts she didn't even blink. _See?_ She told herself. _It was just a dream. It meant nothing._

She ignored the vicious little scoff she heard in the back of her mind.

Smiling wider, she settled her hand in his and helped by carrying the blanket to his car while he carried the picnic basket.

"Sweetie?"

"Hmm?"

"What's the next part of our day?"

Will just grinned mysteriously at her and looked forward as he continued the walk to his car in amused silence.

"Oh, come on! Just a little hint?"

Laughter was all the answer she received.

* * *

><p>The last part of their day, Layla thought later on, was just as wonderful as the first had been.<p>

Will had taken her to the theater to see one of her favorite plays on stage and she loved it. She had happily grasped his arm and leaned against him as they sat down in their seats, now glad that he had told her to dress up slightly more than usual for the occasion.

However, during intermission when she had excused herself to the restroom, she felt uneasy.

Layla couldn't quite pinpoint it, but she got the sense that somebody was watching her. Looking around proved fruitless, as she didn't see anything out of the ordinary; just other patrons taking advantage of the break from the play to get food or use the restroom, like herself.

She shrugged and put it out of her mind as she reached the ladies room.

Making her way to the mirror, and apologizing as she accidentally stepped on another woman's long dress, she stopped and went about adjusting her hair and makeup, checking to make sure her clothes still looked awesome and that everything was still in place.

Layla smiled at her reflection, finally pleased with her appearance, before walking back out the way she had come in.

As soon as she exited the door, though, she felt that prickly, uncomfortable feeling again. A longer glance around her once again proved nothing.

She was suddenly overcome with the familiar feeling of a panic attack. She abruptly, _irrationally_, didn't feel very safe anymore.

Layla closed her eyes for a second then picked up her pace.

_I haven't had a panic attack in years_, she mentally reminded herself. _I am not having one now. I'm breathing. In, out. In, out._ She repeated this over and over until she made it back to the entrance to her section, where Will was waiting patiently in his seat for her to come back.

Quickly making her way back to her seat, she chanced another look around and, unsurprisingly, saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"Hey baby, you're just in time. I think they're going to start again soon." Will immediately grabbed her hand as soon as she sat down and smiled at her.

He was clearly enjoying himself. The redhead had to giggle at his excitement. _I told him he would like this one_.

"So you like it, huh?"

He turned towards her and smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I really do. You were right; happy?"

The smug smile on her face was answer enough and he extended his arm over her shoulders with a, "yeah, yeah, c'mere" as he pulled her to lean on him.

As the play resumed and the lights dimmed, Layla let her eyes wander around the room until they landed on Will's face. She was glad he was there with her at the moment; she had really been scared earlier.

But if he were to ask why, he wouldn't believe her. He would have written it off as nothing and told her to relax.

Sighing softly, she settled her gaze on the performers below them and snuggled closer to her boyfriend. In response, Will tightened his hold on her and snuck a quick kiss to the top of her head before returning his attention to the stage.

He looked so happy and she didn't want to ruin that by expressing her fears. So Layla decided not to tell him anything.

Besides, it was gone now. She had nothing to worry about with this man by her side.

With that last thought, she quieted her mind and allowed herself to enjoy the performance, Will's warm body solid against hers. After a few minutes, she forgot just what had made her frightened in the first place.

After several more, she forgot the whole ordeal entirely.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> And there is chapter two! Hopefully you all enjoyed it, and will leave me some reviews! Even if you didn't particularly enjoy it, a review letting me know would still be nice. Writers really do enjoy them, they boost our morale when we see that people actually care enough about our stories to read and review them :)

I can't really promise anything, what with the chaotic way RL is going right now, but hopefully there won't be such a long wait between this chapter and the next one!


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